AFP, Riyadh, March 10, 2010  – US Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew into Riyadh on Wednesday for talks expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear programme and Washington’s push for tough sanctions against Tehran.
Gates was due to meet King Abdullah as the Obama administration kept up a concerted effort to rally international support for punitive sanctions against Iran, despite misgivings by China and other countries.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are ’incredibly concerned about Iran’s nuclear programme,’ as well as its growing missile arsenal and ’destabilising’ role in the region, a US defence official told reporters earlier.
’The secretary will provide an update about where we are on our policy on Iran as we pivot from the engagement track to the pressure track,’ said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Frustrated with Iran’s response to US overtures for dialogue, the Obama administration has shifted its emphasis, vowing to pile pressure on Tehran to persuade it to abandon its uranium enrichment work.
The diplomatic climate has shifted since Gates last visited Riyadh in May last year, when he had to reassure an anxious Saudi leadership that President Barack Obama’s offer of dialogue with Tehran would not jeopardise Washington’s close ties with the kingdom.
Any prospect for a warming of ties between Iran and the United States has since faded, amid rising tension over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Although Saudi leaders view Iran as a regional threat, they have yet to openly embrace Washington’s campaign for more sanctions.
The UN Security Council has already slapped three rounds of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment which Israel and the West view as a cover to build nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies the charge, saying the programme is for peaceful nuclear energy.
Gates also planned to discuss bolstering Saudi ’air and missile defence capabilities’ as part of a broader US effort to boost security in the Gulf in the face of Iran’s expanding arsenal of ballistic missiles, the defence official said.
The United States has promised to speed up weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies, which have bought billions of dollars worth of American weapons — including missile defence hardware — in recent years.
The US military is also helping the Saudis train a new interior ministry security force created to protect vital oil and gas production infrastructure.
US officials believe the arms build-up in the Gulf sends a clear signal to Iran that its nuclear and missile programmes are counter-productive.
’It’s not lost on the Iranians all the security cooperation that’s been going on for years now,’ Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.
The warplanes and missile defence systems bought by the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and other states were ’all designed to counter-weight and protect against the growing threat posed by Iran,’ Morrell said.
Apart from Iran, Gates will discuss efforts to fight Al-Qaeda’s branch in neighbouring Yemen, blamed for attempting to blow up a US-bound airliner on Christmas Day, officials said.
There were ’still major concerns about the stability of Yemen and the threat posed by Al-Qaeda on the Arabian peninsula,’ the defence official said. ’It’s a challenge that the Saudis feel acutely sharing a border with Yemen.’